Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach Trail

I woke to a beach day in a city famous for its beaches. I put my bikini on under my t-shirt and added a RipSkirt Hawaiian for the full I'm-on-vacation look. I walked up to the Kings Cross Railway Station, finally marveling that I am figuring out the mass transit system. I took the train two stops to Bondi Junction, saving myself at least an hour of walking.

When I pulled up Google Maps for directions to Bondi Beach, I saw a LEGO store, so I changed gears. I had left Don's LEGO passport in the room so it would stay dry, so I asked for supplemental pages. The timing was such Don was home from work and awake in New Jersey, so we FaceTimed.

This was the coolest LEGO store of my trip, I guess you could say I saved the best for last.

Lovely mural

I saw a lot of street art
in this part of Sydney

Since once again Google maps said the mass transit time was about the same as walking, and I see more while walking, I walked to Bondi Beach, the start of the famous Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach walk. I read to allow three hours for the 6 km (4.6 mile) walk. I forgot to note how much time to allow for enjoying each beach vs. walking. I also wasn't sure if I should start at Bondi and hike to Coogee, but reading this post, it recommends going the opposite direction from the way I walked because there is more to do in Bondi. I found plenty to do in Coogee, all of which was closer to the beach than I saw in Bondi. I don't think you could go wrong either way. I do recommend not just packing sunscreen, but actually applying it.

Along the walk I explored five beaches, and other sites. Each beach served a different purpose. Bondee Beach is famous for surfing and sunbathing on its white sand. It also had a lot of street art, many of which memorialized loved ones.

The whole wall had billboard sized murals

Started the day by dipping
my toes in the Pacific Ocean.

It was already 11:30 by the time I dipped my toes in the ocean. I knew I wanted to start the return trip by 4 pm so I could be ready to see Miss Saigon that night.

Australia's coastline is jagged, forming a half dozen different beaches in only a few kilometers. The same distance in New Jersey might take us from Asbury Park through Ocean Grove to Neptune with the only changes being in materials used for the boardwalk and other subtle changes, such as parking fees in Asbury Park, but free parking in Ocean Grove. 

This walk was a photographer's dream!

Unfortunately the next stretch of walkway, leading to Bondi Iceberg POOL was closed due to storm damage so we had to trek along the road until we could rejoin the path.

I wrote my thoughts down after the walk, which means most of the story is best told through the pictures I took with my phone rather than my detailed narrative.

My notes say:

• Path surfaces varied from concrete to large cobblestone
• Some parts of the path had rails, other parts did not
• Sometimes we had to go on the street
• Some parts of the path were on a cliff
• There were many inclines, with stairs, so many stairs!
• I walked 45 flights of "stairs" before returning to my room
• People ranged from families to teens in skimpy bikinis to tourists not dressed for the beach to groups of Asian tourists dressed for dinner
• There were areas cordoned off forming calm pools for wading
• Some beaches had a separate lap pool on the side
• I saw some signs for lifeguards, but only saw one lifeguard, and he was walking on the path not watching swimmers

The next part of the path took us past Aboriginal Rock Formations

A view of the fence

The first beach on the trail is MacKenzie's Bay. It is considered to be a hidden gem because though it is easily visibly from the Bondi to Coogee trail, there is no direct access. It also seems to disappear and reappear. When I walked past it I saw dogs joyfully playing on the beach, but no sunbathers. A web search brought up the article I just linked to dated a month before I was there with the headline MacKenzie's Bay is Back! The ultimate Sydney hidden gem returns! It has a placard, which is how I was able to find it in my notes even though it did not appear on maps of places to go while on the trail. 

Dogs playing on the beach at MacKenzie Bay

A rare lifeguard spotting!

The first official beach after Bondi is Tamarana Beach is the first beach after Bondi. It is about a mile from the large Bondi Beach.

Based on its sign, it is good for surfing and sunbathing.

It is hard to take a bad picture on a day like the one I had.

Bronte Beach was next. It is one of the larger beaches on this path, with lots of amenities including a pool and public rest rooms. Bronte Beach's claim to fame is they are the birthplace of surf life saving. 

Looking at this chart, I was there near 
low tide. Beautiful weather!

One of the more crowded beaches

It also had a swimming pool

Unsure of how much time it would take to complete the walk, I kept walking.

The next site of interest was a surprise. The path winds between the Victorian era Waverley Cemetery and the coast. It is considered to be the halfway point of the walk.

 

The Eastern Beaches Coastal Walk path continued past some sporting fields to Clovelly Beach, which boasts calm water perfect for swimming.

Like magic, Clovelly Beach pops up

Swimming pool to the right

We are coming up on what turned out to be my favorite spot: Gordon's Bay. It has been described as "a small piece of paradise." A quieter beach. Ideal for fishing, diving, swimming, and snorkeling. I liked the picturesque boats stacked closest to the path. There are a series of stairs between Clovelly Beach and Gordon's Bay, which added to the adventure of finding it.

On the banister of the staircase

This looks like my definition of paradise:
a quiet cove with civilization not
too far away

I was even drawn to walking
on the beach and putting
my feet in the water

 

Only one more beach left: Coogee Beach, otherwise known as my finish line. The path does continue few more kilometers up the coast, but the stretch from Bondi to Coogee was the one recommended. I did more than put my toes in the water here, I took off my outer layers, tossed them in my string bag, put the bag next to an overturned boat to use as a landmark, and went in the water. It was a huge leap of faith to leave a bag with my cell phone in it unattended on a public beach, but I noticed many others were also doing. I also noticed times on the trip when I saw people leave their bags unattended and they were still there when they returned.

Now that's a beach!

Off to the side was a path for Giles Bath.
It involved a more complicated path
than I felt like taking to go swimming
with teenage boys. 

I was either very brave or very stupid when I decided to go into the water. All I wanted to do was gently walk into it, perhaps getting wet up to my waist. After getting in about knee deep and being knocked over by a wave, I got up and tried again. The second beating was a little worse than the first, being that I was 10,000 miles away from my family, I decided to call it quits while I was still smiling and wrap myself in the travel towel I brought from New Jersey. The stupid part of the story is I saw teenagers riding waves and getting knocked about, so I should have recognized the possibility. I needed to go under the water at least once on the trip, and this was my last chance.

By some twist of fate, Don texted me while I was swimming, so I took the selfie and sent it to him. Yes, I was a little sunburned the next day.

The town of Coogee was much like the town of Manly Beach, only in this case the main road was not closed to cars. Leaving the beach and walking across the street I was shocked by how many teen and 20-something women were walking around wearing dental floss-sized bikinis. I made a comment about that to an Aussie woman about my age who replied how nice it is they have positive body images. I thought that was a good spin on the situation. The American prude in me wanted to tell them all to cover up!

I found a fish and chips place and had the healthy version -- not fried, with brown rice instead of French fries, and a "rocket" (arugula) pear salad as a side. Perfect meal after a long walk along the Australian coast.

One last look at the beach

For once I took mass transit both in the form of a bus to the train station, and a train to the neighborhood where I was staying. I cleaned myself up. As I hung my clothes to dry in the room, I was glad I still had one more day both to enjoy Sydney, and to give my clothes a chance to dry before I put them in the suitcase for 24 hours.